---
title: Whereas an elderly relative with evident pain in the knees remarks "… — Sorry, white lies and «because I said… · tree and pragmatics
description: Whereas an elderly relative with evident pain in the knees remarks "Mustn't grumble", ascertain the meaning of the remark. Exam question 4 of lesson 37 «Sorry, white lies and «because I said so»» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the questi
---

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# Exam question 4 · Sorry, white lies and «because I said so»

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whereas an elderly relative with evident pain in the knees remarks "Mustn't grumble", ascertain the meaning of the remark.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** remark, not grumble, ascertain, mean · **To what, where:** meaning, remark · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 37 «Sorry, white lies and «because I said so»» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/adult-life/37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so:e4:1
# text = Whereas an elderly relative with evident pain in the knees remarks "Mustn't grumble", ascertain the meaning of the remark.
1	Whereas	whereas	SCONJ	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	elderly	elderly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	relative	relative	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	evident	evident	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	pain	pain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	knees	knee	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
11	remarks	remark	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	Must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	grumble	grumble	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	conj	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
21	of	of	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	remark	remark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **remark** *speech: assert* | present |  |  |  |  |  | whereas a elderly relative with evident pain in the knees | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **grumble** *speech: other* *in a quote* | must |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn complain-37.8 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **ascertain** | infinitive |  | the meaning of the remark |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Topic |
| 4 | **mean** |  |  | the remark |  |  |  |  | nom meaning «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He requests immediate medical attention

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so:e4:o1:1
# text = He requests immediate medical attention
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	requests	request	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	immediate	immediate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
4	medical	medical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	attention	attention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **request** | present | He | immediate medical attention |  |  |  |  | vn beg-58.2 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent attention=Recipient |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He prefers not to complain about his discomfort

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so:e4:o2:1
# text = He prefers not to complain about his discomfort
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	prefers	prefer	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	complain	complain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	discomfort	discomfort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prefer** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **complain** *speech: other* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about his discomfort | vn complain-37.8 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about discomfort=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He reports that he is entirely free of pain

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so:e4:o3:1
# text = He reports that he is entirely free of pain
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	reports	report	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	pain	pain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **report** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | he |  |  |  |  | of pain; entirely, free *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He reproaches the listener for complaining

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so:e4:o4:1
# text = He reproaches the listener for complaining
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	reproaches	reproach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	listener	listener	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	complaining	complaining	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reproach** | present | He | the listener |  |  |  | for complaining | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent listener=Theme for complaining=Attribute |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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